Piranha Plant Gang

2018catchphraseclassic

Published September 22, 2026

Piranha Plant Gang is the semi-ironic fandom that sprang up around Piranha Plant, the surprise first DLC fighter added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in late 2018. A joke that started with a single YouTube edit the day of Nintendo's reveal turned into a rallying cry adopted by top Smash players, giving a potted plant one of the loudest fan sections in the game.

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Overview

Piranha Plant Gang, stylized as #PlantGang, is the tongue-in-cheek fanbase built around the Piranha Plant fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate3. The bit works because the character is inherently ridiculous, a potted enemy from the Super Mario series suddenly standing next to Mario and Link on a fighting-game roster, so declaring yourself part of the 'gang' reads as both a joke and a genuine flex1.

The format leans on the 'This Post Was Made By X Gang' template that was trending in late 2018, with fans slapping the #PlantGang tag onto clips, edits, and reaction posts about the character1. Once the Plant actually released, gameplay footage and hype clips from name-brand Smash players gave the joke a competitive edge, turning it into shorthand for maining an unserious character with total sincerity2.

Origin & Background

Platform
YouTube / Reddit (viral spread)
Date
2018

Nintendo revealed Piranha Plant as the first downloadable fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate during a Nintendo Direct on November 1st, 20183. The pick was unexpected enough that Smash fans immediately started joking about it, and the same day YouTuber IlluminatdotIMG uploaded a remixed cut of the reveal footage titled 'THIS POST WAS MADE BY PIRANHA PLANT GANG,' fusing the announcement to the trending 'X Gang' meme format1. Nintendo developed the character; the meme itself was seeded by that fan edit and the wave of jokes that followed the Direct.

How It Spread

A dedicated subreddit, /r/plantgang, went up on November 2nd, 2018, the day after the reveal3. On November 5th, Smash YouTuber and content creator Alpharad publicly rallied around the 'Plant Gang' tag, pushing the joke to a bigger competitive-Smash audience3. Two weeks later, on November 19th, Redditor chadpiranhaplant posted a Virgin vs. Chad edit to /r/smashmemes that tied Piranha Plant's inclusion to the ongoing bit about Waluigi getting snubbed from the roster3.

The catchphrase spiked again when Piranha Plant released as DLC on January 30th, 2019. Melee legend Mang0 streamed himself picking up the character and shouting 'Plant Gang' between matches, which pulled the meme into the wider fighting-game scene2. That same day TheKeefCrew uploaded 'CEO OF PLANT GANG,' a highlight video that stacked up tens of thousands of views and became one of the most-shared clips associated with the tag4. Additional community edits and gameplay compilations kept #PlantGang circulating through Smash Ultimate content well after launch56.

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